Tanker Owner Wants Navy To Pay For Damage By Missile

NORFOLK, VA. — An unarmed Navy missile accidentally slammed into a civilian tanker during training exercises, and the ship's owner said Wednesday the Navy should have to pay for repairs.

A runaway Sidewinder missile fired from an F-14 fighter jet ripped a 2 1/ 2-foot hole in the tanker Western Sun during naval training exercises Tuesday about 60 miles east of Virginia Beach, Navy officials said. No injuries were reported and no oil leaked.

The Navy said it had warned maritime vessels it would be conducting maneuvers off the Virginia coast this week, but a spokesman for Sun Co. said the tanker was not inside the warning area when the accident occurred.

''Our initial reaction is . . . since the Navy caused the damage, we feel it would be proper for them to pay for the repairs,'' said David Hackney, a spokesman for the Philadelphia company.

The Navy said it did not know what caused the accident.

''We're investigating it and the results of the investigation will be released when the investigation is completed,'' said Lt. Cmdr. Bill Sonntag, a spokesman for the Atlantic Fleet, based in Norfolk.

The 86-pound missile broke into pieces when it landed in the ship's hospital area about 4:45 p.m., sparking a small fire. There were no injuries because none of the 30 crew members were in the sick bay. None of the oil leaked to fuel the blaze, Hackney said.

Capt. Eric Nelson, skipper of the Western Sun, a 641-foot oil tanker carrying 26,000 gallons of oil, initially sent out a distress signal.

Once the fire was out, the vessel was able to continue to Nederland, Texas, where it was to pick up more oil.